


The Heart of Tarth

by NotSteve



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Kids, braime kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-09 10:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18636697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSteve/pseuds/NotSteve
Summary: How Jaime and Brienne's story needs to end.





	1. Chapter 1

She watched carefully as her children playfully climbed the rocks of Tarth, the same rocks her and her brother used to climb. “Careful,” said Brienne when her daughter briefly lost her balance and used her hands to steady herself on the rocks.

“Look, mama, I’m the king of the castle!” said Attie, her youngest, and most wild. Not yet allowed to go as high as his siblings, he stood closes to Brienne.

“No, you’re not,” said Galladon, who had climbed all the way to the top. He was older than his little brother by almost five years. Still just a boy, he stood taller than most children his age. “I am, see?” He struck a fierce pose; Brienne watched him carefully, concerned he might slip and fall.

“I want to be the king!”

“You can both be kings,” said Brienne.

“If they get to be kings, I get to be the princess,” said her daughter Joanna. She stood in between her two brothers. The true beauty of Tarth, they call her; not at all like Brienne's beauty.

They had finished swimming a few moments ago and, on there way up to wash up, Galladon had started climbing up the rocks. Wanting to copy him, both Joanna and Attie followed suit. They only had on their bottom clothing, damp from being in the water, while Brienne held onto the rest.

“All right,” said Galladon, carefully stepping down onto a rock, “you’re the princess, who we’ve trapped in our nasty dungeon. And we’ve got a dragon guarding you.”

Attie hopped down from the rock he stood on. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to be the dragon,” he said as he began to flap his arms around, as if they were dragon wings, and skipped happily a few times around his mother. He then growled at his sister and pretended to breathe fire at her.

“But then I make friends with the dragon,” said Joanna. Attie’s expression changed immediately as he skipped over towards his sister and let her pet the top of his head. “And then we kill the king and rule the castle together.” Attie immediately began roaring at his older brother. He climbed a few steps up, in an attempt to reach his brother, before Brienne pulled him down back down onto the ground.

Galladon opened his mouth to speak, but spotting something in the distance stopped him from doing so. “Papa’s here,” he said finally.

Brienne and her other two children turned to see their favorite one-handed man, dressed in all Tarth colors, practically skip his way down the steps to them.

“PAPA!” screamed Attie, as his little body wobbled over to greet him. His two siblings, older and much faster than he was, got to their father first, but that did not stop Attie from running face first into his father’s groin.

Jaime groaned, and then swiftly lifted his youngest into his arms.

“I’m a bear, papa,” he said proudly, growling at his father.

“No, you’re a dragon,” said Galladon.

“I’ve changed my mind again,” he said. “I’m a bear now.”

Brienne, unlike her children, who had rushed over to greet him, calmly walked over towards them.

“I thought you said you’d be back tomorrow,” she said after greeting him with a small peck on the lips.

“I decided to leave a day early,” he said, smiling at her. His eyes briefly glanced down at her stomach, before focusing back up on her face. “I sent a raven.”

Both Brienne and Jaime glanced down at their youngest, who still pretended to be a ferocious bear in his father’s arms. “I suppose there was some interference,” Brienne said. It would not be the first time their youngest, who did not know how to read, had taken important messages from ravens and lost them while playing, and it certainly would not be the last.

“Did you bring us back any presents, papa,” asked Joanna curiously, searching his pockets.

“Yes, yes, they’re up in the room,” he said, setting Attie down. Both Galladon and Joanna quickly ran up the steps with their younger brother skipping a few distance behind, shouting “WAIT FOR ME!” at them.

Alone at last, Jaime turned to his wife and gave her a proper kiss. “You got my raven then?” she said when they broke away.

“Yes,” he said, “Tyrion nearly had me drink myself silly after I told him. Do the children know yet?”

“I was waiting for you to get home,” she said as their hands intertwined together. He kissed her again, but the shouts of their children broke their lips apart.

“We can tell them at dinner,” he said.

* * *

 

At dinner, Brienne found herself sneaking secret glances at Jaime. A few times their eyes met, and they smiled knowingly at one another. It felt similar to when they had gotten married. Lady Sansa had just given birth to her first child and Brienne did not want their news to overshadow the baby’s birth, so they waited a few days before telling anyone. She quickly looked away, knowing her expression would give the secret away if she looked too long, and focused on her youngest, who was telling an outrageous story about his latest experience with mythical creatures.

Amused by the story he was telling them, Jaime couldn’t help but smile at his son. He hid his mouth with his cup to hide the fact that he was laughing, and pretended to take a sip of his wine.

“I don’t believe it,” Joanna said.

“It’s true,” said Attie. “Only, _I_ didn’t see it… but Onora swears she did!”

“Onora?” questions Brienne. “And this is the same girl who told you tiny people come into your room while you sleep?”

“No, no,” said Jaime seriously. “If I recall, these were not tiny people coming into his bedroom.”

“Right,” Attie said. “They were _fairies_!” Brienne looked over at her husband, who looked just about ready to burst with laughter, and smiled. “And they come to eat our hairs off on the top of our heads. That’s why Maester Wilmot is so bald!” That story had Attie sleeping with his parents for a few nights in fear that someone, or something, might come into his room and chop his golden locks off while he slept.

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Joanna. She had the Lannister beauty—golden hair and green eyes—but had inherited her mother’s stubbornness.

“No!” said Attie defensively as he slammed a tiny fist onto the table. Brienne grabbed his hand and brushed it gently with her thumb in an attempt to calm him.

“Okay, okay,” said Jaime, “but back to this man-maid—”

“ _Mermaid_ , papa,” Attie corrected. Brienne laughed.

Jaime looked down at his plate. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best night for fish. Using his fork, he lifted up a piece of the fish and looked at it curiously. “Excuse me,” he said, biting into it, “back to this _mermaid_.” Attie nodded in approval. “What did it look like?”

“She looked like… well, you know, like an ordinary girl,” he said, taking a sip of his water.

“Maybe she _was_ an ordinary girl,” teased Galladon.

“That was just her top half,” Attie said, “below the water she had a tail! I didn’t see her because I was collecting sea shells when—” He stopped suddenly, his face a deep shade of red.

Brienne frowned. “You were collecting sea shells?”

“What?” he said innocently, as if he had forgotten the whole conversation.

“You said you were collecting sea shells,” Brienne said. “And where might have you been doing that?”

He shrugged, his face burning.

“Attie,” said Brienne in a concerned voice, “you know you’re not allowed by the sea without someone watching over you. You’re not a strong enough swimmer yet.” Attie said nothing as his mother scolded him. “I don’t want you hanging out with this Onora girl anymore. She’s a bad influence.”

They ate in silence for a short awkward moment before Galladon broke it again: “When grandfather returns tomorrow, do you think he can take us fishing?” he asked.

“I want to go fishing!” said Attie.

“So you can hunt for mermaids?” Joanna joked. Jaime snickered.

“You don’t _hunt_ mermaids, Joanna,” said Attie.

“Yes,” said Galladon, “it’s mermaids that hunt you.” Attie nodded at his older brother, unaware that he was also making fun of him.

“I’m sure grandfather will be up for a fishing trip after he’s rested for a few days,” said Brienne. She looked to her husband, who smiled at her. It was time to share the news, she knew. She gestured for him to take the lead.

“We have some news to share with you all,” Jaime said suddenly; all three of his golden lions turned to him, and he paused for a long moment to keep them in suspense. “We’re going to have another baby.”

He saw Brienne’s face turn a bright shade of red as their three children all cheered.

“I knew it,” said their daughter Joanna in excitement.

“I’ve been praying for a new baby,” said Attie.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” asked Galladon.

“We won’t find out until the babe’s born,” said Brienne simply.

“It’s a boy,” said Attie.

“How are you so sure?” asked Jaime.

“That’s what I asked for,” he said simply. “He’s a boy, so I can have someone new to go fishing with.”

“You can fish with a new sister just as easily,” said Jaime. “You go fishing with Joanna and your mother all the time.”

“But it’s not the same,” said Attie. “When is he going to get here?”

“Not for a while, I’m afraid,” said Jaime. “The baby has to grow in mama’s tummy first.” Joanna, who sat closes to her mother, rested a hand on her mother’s stomach. Attie, curious himself, mimicked her.

“Why can’t he grow out here,” he said, “like the rest of us?”

“Because that’s not how babies work, Attie,” said Joanna.

“How _do_ babies work then?” he said.

“Well—” said Jaime, but he stopped suddenly and looked to Brienne for guidance.

“You see, Attie...” said Brienne. Though just like her husband, she could not form the words. Galladon snickered quietly at his parents’ discomfort.

“The baby grows inside mama for some months and then, when he—or she—is ready, they come out as a baby,” explained Joanna.

“Is that how it happened with me?”

“Yes,” said Brienne.

She waited, and prepared herself, for him to ask more questions, but he simply scrunched his nose and continued to eat his dinner.

* * *

 

Jaime awoke the next morning with a pain in his neck and a happiness in his heart. The children had all insisted on sleeping in their parents’ room that night, each wanting to take turns feeling Breinne's stomach. (“I felt him!” claimed Attie, who had his hand on her stomach right when it rumbled from the dinner they had eaten. No one had the heart to tell him it was digestion.) Joanna’s foot found its way onto Jaime’s face, terribly close to his mouth, through the night while Attie’s lower back rested on Jaime’s shoulder, forcing his neck to sleep sideways. Jaime and Brienne fell asleep apart, on opposite sides of the bed, with their children in between them, but now only Jaime and the children occupied the bed.

After gently removing himself from the children, Jaime found Brienne outside watching the sun rise from the horizon. A large ship in the distance inched closer to the island. He wondered if it was Lord Selwyn's ship; he knew the ship up close, but far away it was just a blur. “Is that him?” asked Jaime.

Brienne, hardly startled, turned to him. “Yes, I think,” she said. She squinted her eyes and pointed to the figurehead at the front of the ship: a mermaid, or a man-maid in Jaime’s case, who had her arms crossed on her chest. “See there, that’s the heart of Tarth.” It was Lord Selwyn’s favorite ship. He referred to it as Tarth’s heart because the mermaid looked as if she were clutching her heart, but Lord Selwyn knew it was Tarth’s heart she carried.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> idk if i'll continue with this story, but just posting this before canon breaks my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, quantity over quality so mistakes are present

“Can I name the baby?” asked Attie as he climbed up onto the bed his mother and father were resting on. His two older siblings were near the fireplace, setting up for the show they were to perform for their parents.

“What name would you choose?” asked Jaime.

“Erm,” he said, squeezing in between his parents, “Uncle.”

“Uncle?”

“You want your new baby brother or sister to be called Uncle?” asked Brienne, amusement in her voice.

“Uhuh.”

“Named for your Uncle Tyrion, then?” said Jaime.

“Uhuh.”

Brienne looked to her husband and smiled. Last week, Attie wanted them to name the baby after him, so there would be two Atties in the family. ‘But wouldn’t that be confusing?’  Brienne replied back to him, to which Attie told her: ‘No, I’ll be Attie One and he’ll be Attie Two.’

“We’re ready to begin the show,” said Joanna, clapping her hands together to get her parents’ attention. Quickly, Attie ran to her side.

The show was a tradition among the Lannister children, starting back when Galladon and Joanna were small. Brienne had been forced on bed rest by the maester, which she always hated having to do during her pregnancies, so, to cheer her up, her children decided to put on a show before bed.

Jaime and Brienne adjusted their positions in the bed so they sat comfortably to watch their children perform: Jaime rested his hand on Brienne’s pregnant belly while Brienne’s head fell onto his shoulder.

“Welcome mama and papa to our spectacular... our amazing show!” said Joanna.

“Welcome to our show!” said Attie in a sing-song voice as his feet wiggled beneath him.

Galladon was in the background, putting on an old lion’s mask he had made years ago when he was Attie’s age. It hardly fitted him anymore, but there always had to be a lion in a Lannister Spectacular Show, and Galladon always liked playing the part of the lion.

Brienne clapped while Jaime cheered their children on. The show always seemed to be a bunch of uncoordinated nonsense with their children all doing different things. Galladon and Joanna had a basic plot they wanted to follow, but Attie would always ruin it by breaking into song and dance. This show had proved to be no different; it was supposed to be about a princess (Joanna) locked away by a frightful dragon-bear-monster mutation (Attie) with the lion (Galladon) coming to her rescue, but Attie soon became bored and started creating roles for himself. (At one point, he had even declared himself the princess and wanted Joanna to play the part of the beast.) Still, it was the best show Jaime and Brienne had ever seen, tied with all the other shows their children have put on for them over the years.

By the end of it, as most of these shows end, Galladon and Joanna had gotten frustrated with their little brother’s wild antics and opted to join their parents on the bed while Attie stripped his clothes off and began a solo performance. He started singing an original song he had made up on the spot while running naked around the room:

 

_I love you, little baby._

_Oh, little baby, I love you._

_Please come out of mama soon._

_We’re all waiting for you._

 

Brienne had been forced on bed rest with two of her other three children; Attie had been the only one she did not have to stay in bed for, due to his premature arrival. He was Brienne’s biggest baby despite being born a month earlier than expected. Both Jaime and her father were away hunting—a yearly bonding trip they go at her father’s insistence—when she went into labor, and by the time they had arrived back, Attie was cradled in her arms roaring at the world around him. Her pregnancy with Attie was relatively different than her other pregnancies, including this one. Similar to how he is now, Attie was wild in the womb, always kicking and wiggling around. The Maester even said the excessive kicking might have been the cause for his premature birth. The little one inside her now, who Attie insists is a baby boy, is quite the opposite. The baby only ever seemed to start kicking whenever the children were gathered around talking to Brienne’s stomach, like they knew the voices outside belonged to their siblings.

“Did the baby like my song, mama,” asked Attie after finishing his song and hopping onto the bed to join his family.

“I thought it was spectacular,” said Jaime with a laugh as Attie fell into his arms.

The baby gave a gentle kick as Attie’s hand found Brienne’s stomach. “Yes, the baby loved it,” said Brienne.

“How long will it be until he’s out?” asked Galladon. Like Attie, Galladon was hoping for a little brother.

“It should be any day now,” said Brienne.

“Perhaps even tonight,” said Jaime. He stood, taking his youngest up with him. “But now, it’s off to bed. Say good-night to mama and the baby.”

Joanna kissed Brienne’s belly first before moving further up to Brienne’s lips. Galladon mumbled out a soft “good-night” as his mother’s lips pressed against his cheek. Attie’s kiss to her was the biggest, and most wettest, as he screamed out his declaration of love for both the baby and his mother.

* * *

 

Brienne had dozed off when Jaime entered their room again nearly an hour later. He looked about as exhausted as Brienne felt, but smiled when his eyes met hers.

“The children insisted I tell them three bedtime stories this evening,” said Jaime.

Brienne rolled her eyes. They're only allowed one bedtime story each night but they manipulate their father into telling them more.

“Finally, I had to put my foot down,” he said, climbing into bed. _Finally, they went to sleep_ , Brienne knew was the truth. “I told them, ‘Children, loves of my life, no more stories. It is time for you all to go to sleep, so I can go make love to mama.’”

She kissed him sweetly. “You told them that, did you?”

“Yes, and oh how they wept and pleaded for me to stay,” said Jaime, smiling.

He opened his mouth to continue, but Brienne kissed him again before he could.

His hand found Brienne’s stomach and he rubbed it softly. “How’s our girl?” he asked.

The gender of their children never mattered to Jaime or Brienne—they raise them all the same—but each time Brienne became pregnant, Jaime would have a specific gender for it, and each time he would be right. For their fourth, and perhaps final, baby, Jaime had privately told Brienne he thought they were having a girl. Galladon and Attie wanted the babe to be a boy, Joanna wanted a girl, and Brienne did not care.

“Very comfortable,” said Brienne. “Like she’s not planning on leaving any time soon.”

Jaime laughed. “She’ll be out by tomorrow."

“How are you so sure?”

“Let’s call it... father’s intuition.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brienne: Attie, let me see what you have  
> Attie: A KNIFE!  
> Brienne: NO!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing quantity over quality, because I just need to get these fics written down.  
> Their son Attie is not associated with the their son Attie in my other story (or stories?). I couldn't find another name I liked better than Attie, so I just named the kid Attie. Since his siblings are named after family members, realistically so should he, but whatevs. I thought about naming him after Jaime's uncle, but I didn't like the name enough. Also, I wrote the dinner scene a long time ago back when Nik made that comment about the man-maid, so that's what that is.


End file.
